Do you have a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) in place? Doing so can ensure that, should anything happen, your friends and family can continue to do the best for you without limitations in the way. 

There are two main types of LPA: a Property and Financial Affairs LPA, and a Health and Welfare LPA. Here we will focus on Property and Financial Affairs.

A Property and Financial Affairs LPA allows the appointed attorney to make financial decisions, like paying bills, managing bank accounts, collecting benefits or pensions, and overseeing property on your behalf. With your permission, the LPA can be utilised as soon as it’s registered.

Parties to an LPA – all parties must be over age 18 

• Donor: You, the person granting the LPA  
• Attorneys: The people chosen to manage your affairs on your behalf if you are no longer able to do so yourself.  
• Witnesses: The people who witness the signatures of the donor and attorneys. 

Does it cost anything to set up an LPA?

Each LPA generally costs £82 (support may be available under certain circumstances). To register both a Property and Financial Affairs LPA and Health and Welfare LPA, it will cost £164 in total.

You can find out more about registering for LPAs on the Gov.uk website here: Make, register or end a lasting power of attorney: Register a lasting power of attorney – GOV.UK

How do Property and Financial Affairs LPAs help you look after your wealth?

Firstly, your appointed attorney must keep your finances separate from their own, unless it’s something in both of your names (for example, if your appointed attorney is your partner and you have a joint bank account or own a home together).

Your appointed attorney must:

• Follow the preferences and instructions (‘restrictions and conditions’) you decide to write into the LPA.
• Act in your best interests, helping you make your own decisions where possible.
• Respect your confidentiality.
• Let you and the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) know if they no longer wish to act as an attorney.
• Give the OPG information about how the LPA is being used, if asked.
• Keep records of their actions.

Appointed attorneys cannot:

• Use their position to benefit themselves.
• Let other people use the LPA to make decisions.
• Use the LPA unless it is registered.
• Make gifts or significant financial transactions, without considering your best interests and any potential impacts on future care needs.

Choosing more than one attorney

It is recommended that you appoint more than one attorney in case something happens to your preferred attorney. You can also appoint replacement attorneys before you register the LPA. If you wish to change LPAs after registration and you still have mental capacity, you must revoke the existing LPA and replace it with a new one.

If you choose more than one appointed attorney to oversee your LPA, you can decide if they can make decisions on their own (severally) or together (jointly).

If you choose jointly and severally, the other attorney(s) can still act and make decisions if one of the attorneys becomes unable to do so.

If you decide they must make decisions together, the appointed attorneys have to agree on the decision together. If one of the attorneys can no longer act, the other attorneys are also unable to act either unless you have stated otherwise in the LPA.

Preferences or instructions

You may set out preferences or instructions in the LPA if you wish. For example, you can state that all appointed attorneys must all agree if they want to sell your house, but they can make other decisions separately. 

How can my family and friends look after my finances if I don’t have an LPA?

There are several ways a relative or friend can manage your bank and building society accounts if you don’t have an LPA, however it will be a lot harder for them to do so.

They will need to make an appeal to the Court of Protection to be able to use your finances to cover your needs, or to make any changes to your wealth. They will only be granted the court order if the court decides it’s a serious matter with an unavoidable time limit.

Each urgent court order is for a one-off decision. So, if it was to get money from your account to pay for care fees, for example, your friends/family would need to apply for another court order the next time they would need the funds.

An emergency application only applies for very serious situations where there’s an immediate risk to the person requiring the support.

Make an urgent or emergency application to the Court of Protection – GOV.UK

Your friends and family can also apply to the Court of Protection to become your ‘property and financial affairs deputy’ (for money and property) or ‘personal welfare deputy’ (health and welfare) for long-term help. They will still have to send every decision through the court to ensure they are the right person/people to be your deputy, however, making the process longer and more convoluted than if you name them your LPA.

Make decisions on behalf of someone: When you can make decisions for someone – GOV.UK

Discretionary Investment Management

If you would like your attorneys to be able to manage your investments through a discretionary investment management service, we recommend you include an express instruction to enable the attorney to do so. You can contact us or speak to your Courtiers Adviser to learn more.  

Thinking of an LPA?

Your Courtiers Adviser can help you work through the pros and cons of putting a Property and Financial Affairs LPA in place, or you can contact us to learn more about how we can support you with your wealth. The LPA can help you plan for the future, allowing someone you trust to make decisions for you if you ever lose mental capacity. 

How to set up a Property and Financial Affairs LPA:

1. Get the LPA forms and information pack from the Office of the Public Guardian.
2. Fill in the forms carefully to avoid potential rejection and reapplication fees.
3. The donor and the attorney will need to sign the forms in a certain order with witnesses present. If you complete the forms online, you’ll need to print them off to be signed.
4. The Certificate Provider must sign the LPA after the donor and the donor’s witness. Their role is to make sure the donor can understand independently what they are signing and is not being forced into doing it.
5. While not mandatory, you should register your LPA with the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) as soon as you have completed it and whilst you still have mental capacity. This allows for any potential mistakes to be corrected and ensures the LPA is in place if you later lose the ability to make decisions for yourself. Otherwise, your attorney can register it for you.

Remember:

• Your appointed attorney cannot use your LPA until registration is complete, which can take several weeks.
• If you have any questions or concerns that we may be able to help with at any time, please speak to your Courtiers Adviser or contact us.